Mashals father requests Supreme Court to transfer trial to Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Claiming security threats, the father of Mashal Khan, student of Mardan University lynched by a vigilante mob, has requested the Supreme Court to transfer his son’s trial from Mardan to Islamabad.

The request was made before a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, on Wednesday.

Iqbal Khan told the court that his daughters could not go to their institutions for education due to security issues.

He said that he wanted to shift his daughters’ schooling from Swabi to the capital along with Mashal’s lynching trial. He also thanked the CJP for taking cognizance of the incident.

The CJP observed that they wanted that no other person should be made victim in the future. He also said the lynching occurred in Mardan University has no place in an Islamic society.

Mashal’s father said the varsity’s lecturer Ziaullah Hamdard who was a witness to the incident had not been even cross-examined.

On request of transfer of trial, the CJP observed that law was available for transfer of case from one place to another for a fair trial.

He, however, directed the counsel representing Mashal’s father to write a letter to the court’s human rights cell to redress his grievances.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) law officer Waqar Ahmed submitted a progress report. He also contended that the KP government had withdrawn its earlier request for constitution of a judicial commission.

According to the report, 53 suspects have been arrested. Out of the 53, 49 were in jail and 4 had been sent on remand while two others had escaped. The report added that the key suspect Imran had been arrested and he had recorded his confessional statement.

The law officer told the court that the investigation was being carried out to ascertain the alleged involvement of varsity’s administration in the incident.

The CJP expressed his displeasure for not probing the role of varsity admin, adding that the previous report had mentioned some names of the administration.

However, the Mardan deputy inspector general told the bench that the role of admin had recently been ascertained and it would be submitted in the final challan.